1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a housing for connection to an electrical line, especially a bus line, with at least a first housing part and a second housing part, with at least a locking system for locking the first housing part to the second housing part in a common locking position, a contact device for making electrical contact with the line being assigned to the first housing part and at least a line bed for guiding the electrical line being formed in the second housing part.
2. Description of Related Art
Housings of the type under consideration have been known for a long time, for example, actuator/sensor interface modules that are used as described below, by way of example, for explaining the invention. The locking system under consideration here and the housing considered here are, however, in no way limited to this application. Actuator/sensor-interface modules are included in an actuator-sensor-interface (AS-interface) bus system, with which it is possible to connect actuators and sensors to the lowermost control plane—for example a SPS or a PC—via a bus line. Here, the AS-interface modules establish the connection between the bus line and the actuator or sensor.
Often, the housing of the AS-interface modules is divided into two parts. In the first housing part, there is programmable control logic that is parameterized, for example, with the address of the AS-interface module that manages the bus protocol and that forms the interface to the actuators or sensors that can be connected to the first housing part. The second housing part generally has only one mounting function; it is fixed in a first mounting step at the mounting site of the AS-interface module, for example by slipping it onto a top-hat rail or by screwing it onto the wall of a building or machine. The second housing part furthermore has a fixed line bed that is matched to the lines of the AS-interface bus with which contact is to be made.
In further mounting, the bus line is placed in the line bed of the second housing part and then the first housing part is seated on the second housing part and—as is known from the prior art—screwed to the second housing part (German Patent DE 197 56 167 C2; ifm electronic gmbh: “Communications Systems,” Catalog 2005, pp. 116 ff).
It can be easily imagined that this type of mounting, depending on the application site, can be very difficult, unreliable or even impossible. On the one hand, the electrician needs both hands for mounting, one hand to hold the first housing part, the other hand for the screwing operation; on the other hand, poorly accessible mounting sites are problematic because not only must it be possible to accommodate the AS-interface module there, but in addition access to the mounting tool (screwdriver) must also be ensured.
Known from German Patent Application DE 195 37 684 A1 is a detachable connection for a multipart housing that does not require screwing operations and that uses the connection of the housing parts with a locking element that is provided on one side of the housing on which the housing parts are in contact with one another. Known from German Patent DE 43 07 396 C2 is another detachable locking system for a two-part housing without screwing operations, whereby the locking element is accessible from the top part of the housing. Neither of these two housings with locking systems provides a connection, made with the locking system of the housing parts, to an electrical line, however.
Moreover, it often makes mounting complicated in that the location of the lines with which contact is to be made does not agree with the orientation dictated by the fixed line bed, and thus unsightly loops and bends in the line path result.